10 totally underrated first dance songs

By Megan JenkinsOctober 16, 2019

Your first dance that incredible moment when you make your first appearance, ceremonially speaking, as a married couple. Lots of folks opt to take dance lessons for this reason: you want to perform a dance that communicates how well suited, romantic, in love, and happy you are to and with one another.

For these reasons, its important to pick a song that does a few important things. It should make you feel comfortable, feel like a true representation of your love, and be something you're comfortable recalling as your first dance song for the rest of your life.

On the surface, this is all that song has to do.

But the reality is, there are more stipulations to picking the perfect first dance song. For example, you probably don't want it to be too popular or trendy; you don't want it to mean something other than you think it means (see: The National's Slow Show); you don't want to choose a song you or your partner has shared with someone else; you don't want to choose a song you can't dance well to (see: songs in 3/4 time, or waltzes!); and you don't want your song to be too long (nobody wants to watch you dance for 8 minutes. Frankly, 2 is enough.)!

Right. Now this is more complicated.

To get your mind working, here are ten of our favourite first dance songs. They're not too popular, definitely romantic, and not too long.

1. Tezeta (Nostalgia) - Mulatu Astatke

2. There Is No Greater Love - Chet Baker

3. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star

4. Here, There, and Everywhere - The Beatles

5. Suzanne - Leonard Cohen

6. Sea of Love - Cat Power

7. Sweet Thing - Van Morrison

8. La Vie En Rose - Louis Armstrong

9. You Don't Know How Glad I Am - Nancy Armstrong

10. Gregory Alan Isakov - The Universe

What do you think? What are you thinking about for your first dance song? Let us know below!